


The Ring Isn't The Hero

by RebeccaAnabelBurrows



Category: DCU, Justice League - All Media Types
Genre: Batcave (DCU), M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:55:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26116813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RebeccaAnabelBurrows/pseuds/RebeccaAnabelBurrows
Summary: Post Justice League #50 (spoilers for this issue and the previous ones).A short continuation of the scene in the Cave with Hal and Bruce in Justice League #50
Relationships: Hal Jordan/Bruce Wayne
Comments: 2
Kudos: 81





	The Ring Isn't The Hero

**Author's Note:**

> Full disclaimer : A good part of this (including the title) is dialogue (and descriptions) from Justice League #50 or #44

His last conversations with Bruce had been tense and hadn’t gone so well. Which made his presence in the Cave absurd. The “You’re not the hero, Jordan. The ring is the hero.” had stung. It was engraved in his mind, now. Honestly, what was he even doing there ?

Like Bruce was going to accept any comfort. Well, he could at least try. When he found him, the man was looking at the Joker’s face, displayed on a plethora of screens. Freaky. Hal repressed a shudder. 

“Bruce ?” he called, even if he was certain Bruce had been alerted the second he had put a foot in the Cave. 

Bruce looked over his shoulder, asserting his presence briefly but not saying anything before focusing back on the screen right in front of him. Hal felt tense, bracing himself for another verbal attack. That was Bruce’s speciality whenever he wanted someone out of his place, but Bruce had yet to say a word about not wanting Hal here. 

The fact that he was turning his back to Hal showed how much he trusted him. Hal would have prefered Bruce looking at him, however.

“Wanted to make sure you’re okay.” he stated softly. 

He took a few steps closer, joining Bruce, and took a more relaxed stance. 

“I’m fine. Though I was wrong.” Bruce told Hal without looking at him. 

“About what ?” Hal asked, and his face was serious.

As serious as Bruce’s tone. Bruce being wrong was rarely a good thing for the League. 

“The ring isn’t the hero.” Bruce said without meeting Hal’s eyes. 

There were so many nuances in that sentence. In Bruce’s rigid shoulders, in his refusal to look at Hal.

Bruce was ashamed. He wouldn’t have recognized being wrong if he hadn’t realized how hurtful his words had been. He was trying to do better, and that was a quality Hal appreciated. Of course, he wasn’t going to apologize formally, but Hal hadn’t expected it from Bruce. 

And there was praise in the things Bruce wasn’t saying. The ring isn’t the hero, you are. Obviously, direct compliments were above Bruce’s range of considerable skills but that was what he wanted to convey, apparently. 

Hal shrugged, and tried to play it casually even if it was kind of a big deal. 

“Forget about that…” he said, and took a step closer to Bruce. 

Hal was just about a step behind him, trying to respect his boundaries. Also, the Joker’s face wasn’t pleasant to look at from afar, and a close-up wasn’t an improvement. 

For a second, Hal was transfixed by the hideous face but it didn’t last. He wondered how Bruce could look at it for so long without turning away. 

“... Tell me about him. I heard you ask the chair, ‘what’s the joker’s real name ?’ I heard it answer you. And I heard you say ‘that’s impossible.’ ” Hal revealed. 

Maybe it would be better not to let Bruce with his demons, especially so soon after their recent experiences with the lovely Darkseid and his just as charming daughter, not to mention a handful of other unsavory characters. 

“Why ?” Hal asked, giving Bruce the opportunity to share his concerns with him instead of carrying that burden alone.

Bruce turned in his direction, looking intensely at Hal behind his lenses. Hal could always tell when he was. 

“It doesn’t matter.” he said but he hadn’t relaxed once since Hal had entered the Cave.

It wasn’t just a matter of pride, Hal had seen him in quite a vulnerable state not long ago. 

“It does, Bruce.” Hal said not unkindly. 

He could tell it had been on Bruce’s mind since he had heard it. 

“Did it give you a name ? Someone you know ?” 

That could explain it. Bruce seemed to hesitate, still refusing to look at Hal.

“It didn’t give me a name.” Bruce told him finally. 

“Then what did it say ?” Hal asked, and now he was really worried.

What could be worse than recognizing a name ? 

“It said there were three.” Bruce said. 

“Three ? Three Jokers ? What the hell does that mean ?” Hal exclaimed. 

Bruce seemed to have enough on his plate with only one of them. Three ? They were going to be the end of him. 

“I don’t know yet… but I’m going to find out.” Bruce said.

Hal had no doubt he would, and if Hal didn’t stop him now, Bruce was going to try figuring it out on the very evening. 

That was not good. They needed a break from the superheroing, right now. It couldn’t be a full time job, especially for someone who was just human. It would get them killed some day, because superheroes weren’t good at quitting, but it didn’t have to be tomorrow.

“Bruce, tell me you’re not going to look at this guy’s face all night long. You’re not going to figure out the chair’s message tonight.”

“I can try.” Bruce said, stubbornly looking at the screens.

Hal wondered what he was thinking about when he looked at them, if there was some hidden message to find there on the clownish face. 

Hal put a hand on his shoulder as he had done earlier, when Bruce was recovering from his experience of the chair. He had been supporting Bruce but also himself somehow. He had been so sure he was going to die. 

The gesture had been natural, and Bruce hadn’t rejected him. This was a repetition of it.

“Or, just saying, you could take a break and relax for once. We could take a break and relax.” Hal said. 

It didn’t even sound that tendancious, but Hal thought gradation was the way to go. Bruce risked to freak out if he came on to him without warning. 

“As pick-up lines go, this one is pretty bad.” Bruce said and he didn’t sound horrified at all, merely amused. 

Hal felt his cheeks reddening, and started regretting not having a cowl, because his mask didn’t cover his face enough to hide it. 

“I didn’t say anything about -” he protested weakly. 

Bruce was smiling in a way that told Hal that if he was another person, he would be doubling up with laughter. 

“Hal. You’re rubbing circles on my shoulder.”

Indeed. Hal hadn’t noticed it. He snatched his hand away from Bruce’s shoulder. 

“Sorry.” he mumbled. 

“Don’t be. I didn’t say no.” Bruce remarked. 

Hal looked at him, waiting for the joke, but nothing happened. Bruce was dead serious. 

“Great. So, how do we do this ?” Hal said, with a lazy smile on his lips. 

“Like this, probably.” Bruce said. 

He typed something and turned off all the screens before grabbing Hal and kissing him. 

Hal laughed at his precipitation before kissing him back. The three Jokers could wait. Bruce’s entire attention was focused on Hal now. Mission accomplished.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I've just finished Justice League (New 52) and I have a lot of (Batlanternish but not only) feelings about this. So, maybe not my last piece based on a sentence I liked in the last issues.


End file.
